Asset Replacement

As a leading global manufacturer of firelighter solutions based in North Wales has increased production and efficiency, thanks to assistance from Tycon Automation Ltd.

The existing moulding roundabout machine that manufactured the firelighter bricks utilised an ageing legacy control system platform. With this came issues of reliability and the availability of spare parts. The system was difficult to work with and faults were often troublesome to diagnose.

Engaged to find a repeatable standard solution Tycon Automation Ltd used their automation knowledge and expertise to design a whole system solution.

Engineered from the ground up, using the existing plant items available Tycon Automation Ltd engineered the whole system using the latest Mitsubishi automation products. The main electrical control desk and two remote interface boxes have been designed to allow the operators to easily monitor and control the process.

Using the Mitsubishi FX3G PLC and a standard GOT 1055 touchscreen interface the control system delivered massive benefits over its predecessor. The system allows the user to operate the machine devices individually in manual mode and has increase visibility of the process and its various stages.

Enhanced alarming has been used to ensure that the common failure and abnormal conditions are now visible to the operator enabling fast and effective corrective actions to be taken.

Tycon Automation Ltd has now manufactured five identical systems for this market leader. Therefore ensuring their increased manufacturing productivity, reducing their downtime and increasing their production and maintenance effectiveness.